My Other Personality is the Lord of Darkness
by GreatBigFreak
Summary: The weirdness that is the life of a man who's just trying to be normal. Chosen victims: Mark Calaway, The Undertaker, Kane and Sara. Rated for language, strangeness, and a guy on guy kiss at the end. Nothing too offensive, I swear. Rewritten & Updated


Title: My Other Personality is the Lord of Darkness

Author: GreatBigFreak / The Ruffian

Disclaimer: Characters aren't mine... I just take them off the toy shelf every now and again. The Calaways' children have been changed, because they're kids who have no public life whatsoever, and that would just be rude and invasive of me to use the real ones. Any magic use being described is made up in my wee noggin. Don't try to interpret any specific set of beliefs from what you read. Also close to the end of the story: Anatole is a personal favourite childhood book, and "weirded" is a word... I made it up. smirk

Summary: The excessive weirdness that is the life of a man who's just trying to be normal. Starring Mark Calaway, the Undertaker (you'll see why), Kane and Sara.

Kayfabe compliance: Yeah, but from awhile ago. Kane's still all crispy fries and masked. Taker's gone the way of ABA.

Rating: T or PG-13 probably for naughty language, violence, and a single m/m kiss at the end. (Again, you'll see why) Nothing too offensive.

Notes: This story started out as something rather mediocre in my own estimation, and I've done some serious rewrites to make it not suck. Many humble thanks go out to Dreaming Egypt for reading and giving me some new ideas to work with and things to focus on. Go read her stuff. DO IT NOW! Well, right after you read this.

He was going weird again. He knew it... Maybe it was the 'new' house. It had a vibe to it that he'd liked when Sara had chosen it among potential summer properties. It was in the middle of nowhere, made of fieldstone, dark, cool, and not too many windows. It was large for a fieldstone house as well. The doorways were actually meant for someone as large as Mark, and he didn't have to duck to get through them.

The ceilings on the second floor were slanted, but just added to the charm for Mark. His wife and children spent most of their time on the main floor as there was plenty of room down there for all of them. The upstairs was for storage, guests, and some exercise equipment. The only time when Sara came up was to hit the weights or treadmill. She even left the changing of the bed linens to the housekeeper when others came to stay with them.

Otherwise, the upstairs was Mark's territory. He'd made the room with the northern exposure, the coolest, darkest and dampest, into an office of sorts. It also doubled as his library. Nobody liked the room save for him. He didn't mind. Every little boy wants a Bat Cave or Fortress of Solitude when he grows up. This was his now.

The room was also his remaining repository for his fascination with the macabre. Marriage and family life had tamed most of that for him. He didn't have the time to invest in it anymore. His family had become his priority.

This was especially so now that he was on 'summer vacation'. It was two glorious months to wear sweat pants on Sundays, pour beer on the barbeque, screw around with the lawn mower (while never getting it to work properly), play with his kids, and make love to his wife. Two months to sleep late and stay in one place. It was time to pretend he wasn't a celebrity and destroy his ego. It was his time to come back down to Earth. Except for now that was.

A voice was speaking to him again. It was only here and there, reminding Mark of its presence. He knew the voice. It was a variation of his voice. Usually that voice had left him alone during his off time. Maybe the sunlight had spooked him before now. Maybe Taker's freaky ass just liked the new digs. It wouldn't surprise Mark if that was the case. That was why they had bonded so well in the first place. They had similar tastes. Then again, Taker's persona was based on himself, how could they not get along?

Mark though, at this point in his life, didn't want much to do with Taker. As little as possible in fact. He wanted enough to keep the connection between them should he need it, but that was it. It was selfish of Mark, he knew that, but he had a family to think about. Divining the future from the entrails of dead goat or werewolf wasn't really an appropriate activity for family time. Though it did keep the werewolf population in check... Not to mention goats... Smelly things they were.

In Mark's quiet moments alone, Taker was teasing him again with his power and charm... And some part of Mark wanted it all back. The worst part was that he couldn't tell Sara. She thought he'd been living the character when they'd met. The truth was that the character had been living him. His love and companionship with Sara is what had given Mark the determination to put Taker back into his place, and Mark back in the driver's seat. It had been just in time too. Everyone around Mark had ideas about what was really going on, but hadn't had a fucking clue how to deal with it.

At the moment, Mark was furiously reading a book on binding spirits. He could see his children down below the small window, playing on the grass. Until now, he'd known enough about 'spirits'. They couldn't do a whole hell of a lot if they didn't have the living to fear them or channel themselves through. Mark didn't fear Taker by any means, but he was concerned. As always, the entity that was called The Undertaker was exceedingly polite, as Mark himself usually was. He could afford to be. Most people knew better then to mess with him.

The only reason Mark had ever let Taker have control was that he wanted to see what would happen. It had been a bizarre sense of fun. But time made all the difference. Now he had a family to worry about. They were his priority, his entire life now. Mark had a sudden thought and turned the pages of the ancient text to the subject of binding spirits to places.

_"You know you don't want to do that, Mark."_ Taker's voice rang through his mind, using exquisite French. The sometimes pretentious spirit always enjoyed the language. _"If you do, you might loose me to someone else."_

"No I won't." Mark knew that to answer Taker was to give in to him, if only minimally. He found the page he needed and prepared the room.

_"How about you bind me to your cock? That could be fun."_

"How about I bind you to my large intestine?" Mark shot back.

_"Well, because of the particulars between you and me, I could give you permanent Montezuma's Revenge. I'd set your sphincter to prolapse. Talk to me Mark. Why are you doing this?" _

"You already know why." Mark said, but gave him nothing more.

_"You have nothing to fear from me."_

"I know that." Mark said. There was blissful silence for a moment, only it didn't last.

_"It's your children. You fear for them, don't you? You fear what I might do to them should I take over."_

"Fuck off, Taker." Mark spilled salt around the edge of the room, careful to get in behind shelves, his desk, and everything else.

_"You are! Unbelievable. Mark, I treasure you. I couldn't be any other way. How could I see fit to bring harm to your children or the woman you love?" _Taker reasoned.

"You've harmed other people I care about." Mark said.

_"Paul and Kane were unfortunate, yes. But it had to be done. They would have destroyed you without any guilt. I was forced to protect you. Face it, Mark, you need me."_

"Like hell I do. I got along fine before you were created."

_"What if Paul and Kane try to attack you again? What then?"_

"They won't." Mark said.

_"Don't be so sure."_

"They won't. Okay? We have an understanding now."

_"You and Kane maybe... But Paul would still like to string you up by your nutsack for cutting him out of your life like you, well, we did. And need I remind you that he still has a tight grip on your baby brother? Don't deny or ignore that, Mark. They are still dangerous."_ Taker said. Mark sighed and kept on pouring salt.

A candle, incense, a shot of whiskey, one of the caged rats with a dagger through its skull, and it was done. Taker stood wearing battle garb between Mark and the door.

"What did you do, Mark?!" He bellowed. Mark knew that he would still be the only one who could see and hear Taker, so he didn't worry about anybody else hearing them.

"I just want the fucking summer off." Mark said and sighed again. He turned to leave the room.

"Mark! Lunch!" Sara called from downstairs. Mark found himself nose to nose with Taker, his mirror image, save for Taker's black hair to Mark's red.

"You need me, Mark. With all the crazy shit you've had your hands in and lived through, you need me. You are not free of this existence by any means." Taker said.

"I need to be with my family. I can't do this anymore. I can't live with two people in my head... I can't sacrifice my time with my family... It's... It's the first time I've ever really been loved." Mark said and stepped around Taker, rather then the more rude gesture of walking through him.

"Mark! You don't understand!" Taker cried as Mark left the room, careful to step over the line of salt, and close the door. "Mark! Mark! You don't understand! Shit... I love them too, Mark." Taker's last sentence was a whispered confession. "Shit!" There was nothing Taker could do to vent his rage and frustration. He could only affect the world around him through Mark. He couldn't so much as write an angry note without Mark's hand to do it.

When Mark let him, his body was the lever with which Taker could move the world. It was a phenomenal power that they could use to manipulate the world any way they wanted... But all Taker wanted these days was to protect Mark and remain on this plane of existence. Mark's sentimental heart had warmed him over the last few years. They were one now. How could Mark not see that? Taker even looked forward to the sappy fuck reading his children bedtime stories. "Shit" He cursed again. There was nothing to do but wait until Mark returned. He gave up and dissipated into an intangible presence in the room.

He didn't know how long it took, but Taker knew that there was someone on the other side of the door. "What is that man up to?" It was the voice of the housekeeper, Darla. The door swung open. "What is this? Salt? Ugh, I really have to get a better cliental list." She said to herself.

Taker watched with a certain amount of glee as Darla knelt down with a dustpan and brush. She barely left a grain visible, and Taker's presence floated over top of her, and down the stairs.

He could feel Mark very close. Taker found him outside on the hammock, his youngest child, a toddler named Jack (whom both Mark and Taker affectionately called Ripper), was perched on his stomach and chest. Mark held the boy firmly in place with his tattooed arm. They were both asleep.

Taker couldn't disturb them. The scene was too pastoral. However his imperative to be bonded to Mark's body was paramount. It was a survival tactic. He didn't know what would happen if they were separated for a long period of time. What right did Mark have to separate them anyway? Taker had been created for Mark, from Mark. He'd been created from Mark's personality and compressed power, magical and otherwise. They'd both been uncertain at first, afraid of one another. But over the years they'd come to rely on one another. Taker had even found a way to enjoy Mark's wrestling career. At first he'd seen it as something even more bizarre then himself. Now he just found it all rather fun. No one would blame Taker for feeling that he'd been taken for granted. He had.

But Taker would not beg. He had too much pride for that. Still, he had to convince Mark that they needed to be together. It was an ideal time for Paul to try and commit something nefarious. Mark's power was at low ebb this time of year naturally. In prior years, Taker always had to step it up for Mark when had been dealing more with the power he wielded and courted. Taker settled in to ponder what to do, and drifted more to the side of the house.

"Hello" Taker registered the voice of Mark's eldest, Katie. The little girl was looking directly at where Taker's presence lingered. "Helllloooooo?" She said again. Her voice demonstrated her child's impatience with that which should be obvious to adults. As someone who saw much that was obvious about life, Taker had always been endeared by this in children. On impulse, he took form. "Ah, there you are." Now she sounded particularly delighted with herself.

"Hello Katie." He replied. This was remarkable. She was the first to be able to truly see him other then Mark and Paul. "Do you know who I am?" He asked.

"Daddy talks to you all the time. Normally not out loud, but sometimes, when he thinks no one's around, I hear you two talk out loud." She said.

"And the rest of the time?" Taker asked.

"I just hear you in my head." She said. She wasn't disturbed by this at all. It seemed natural to her, so Taker assumed that this had always been the case.

"Oh" Taker said simply in reply.

"Why aren't you with daddy? You're always with daddy." She asked.

"I don't think he wants me around anymore." Taker adopted a soft tone that Mark usually used with his daughter.

"Why not?" She asked.

"Because he doesn't want me to take away any time he spends with you, your brother and your mom."

"But how could you do that? You're just always there... With him." She said.

"That's what I thought as well." Taker said.

"Hey! Maybe when you're back with daddy, YOU can convince him to get me a pony!" She said, ignoring the greater metaphysical issues. Taker took delight in her all too childlike response when countered with her keen observation of the state of affairs between himself and Mark. He responded the only way he could. He laughed out loud.

"Well, I can't seem to convince him of much of anything at the moment. How about you try for a kitten first?"

"Nope, I want a pony." She said. Taker laughed again. The girl was already an over achiever like her father. He caught a shadow approaching in the corner of the field of vision taking form gave him. Judging by the size of the shadow, Mark was awake and headed this way. Taker sat down beside Katie.

"What's your favourite colour of pony?" Taker asked her.

"Palomino" She said confidently.

"Oh, that's a good one." Taker agreed.

"How the hell did you get out?" Mark's voice was cold as ice.

"Next time lock the door so the housekeeper can't get in. That woman misses nothing. Give her a raise." Taker said dryly. "Katie has the sight, Mark. She knows a lot about us."

"Katie, run along inside now." Mark said.

"Why daddy? Look, he can't even touch anything." Katie waved her hand through Taker's 'body', and he dissipated and reformed slowly.

"I bet you just loved doing that." Taker said in mock annoyance, much like Mark himself often did. It was a technique to make the kids as sarcastic as possible as early as possible, just because it really pissed Sara off, and made Mark laugh. Katie giggled and did it again. Taker reformed on the other side of her.

"Boo" He said softly. She squawked with high pitched laughter again when she discovered his location.

Mark was more then a bit flabbergasted at what he was seeing. The Lord of Darkness, The Undertaker, was playing a ghostly form of tag with his daughter, and had a genuine smile on his face about it. It was nothing like the look of bordering on insanity expression of maniacal joy Mark was familiar with seeing on Taker's face. Nope. Taker was just... happy. Bizarre. Mark had seen and caused all sorts of strange things, but this was about the strangest. Taker's black hair and beard, dressed for battle, were not things that Mark could imagine Katie being comfortable around, let alone seeing him as someone to play with.

Mark took a deep breath and turned his brain on again. Taker had been just as present as Mark himself had been for this family. That thought shook Mark deeply. The idea that someone like Taker, could come to care for innocents disturbed Mark. He had the passing thought that maybe all this time spent around a family had cured Taker of his more megalomaniacal leanings, but Mark wasn't ready to trust him by any means. The play between Katie and Taker slowed and Taker looked back at Mark.

"Mark, would you please tell me what's got you so wary of me? What have I done?" Taker asked.

"That's the thing, you haven't. Everything that has happened in the last few years, and nothing's come back on me yet. I've had it almost too good, Taker. I'm due... And I don't know who to trust. I don't want you gone, but I don't want you turned against me." Mark said.

"Oh, that's a lovely way to do that... Cutting me off from you is the way to protect yourself?" Taker said sarcastically. "What if somebody figures out how to bind me to them and can control me?"

"We didn't make you that way."

"Then why, Mark? What other reason would you have for purging me from you?"

"Daddy?" Katie tugged at her father's pant leg.

"I, I don't know Taker... I just..." Mark said.

"Daddy?" Katie pleaded again.

"I just want them to be safe. Above all, I want them to be safe."

"Daddy!"

"What is it, Katie?" Mark asked, and then pitched forward as if struck from behind, and crumpled on the grass.

"Daddy!" Katie screamed. Taker could feel it as well now, but had been distracted by his conversation with Mark. This was a mental attack from Paul. Katie was distraught.

"Katie, shhh. It's okay." Taker reassured. "Mark, you've got to let me back in."

"N-No" Mark managed to say through his anguish.

"I don't want to do this, but you've left me no choice." Taker focused himself. Being this close to Mark let him affect his body. He found the weak spot in Mark's mental defense that the attack had used. He forced himself in. He hated to do so. It felt dirty, and wrong, and was rather painful to him.

Inside Mark's mind, Taker found Mark was a gibbering mess, drawn up into himself, reliving past traumas and injuries all at once. Taker tore through Mark's mind for the trigger. It was a nasty little mind bomb, and Taker purged it from them by surrounding it and flushing it out at the spot where it had entered with sheer force of will. He then sealed up the weak spot and reinforced the defense of it. But even after all was quiet, Mark was still a mess and was in no shape to deal with anything at the moment. Taker held Mark together and thought of Katie. He stepped in and opened Mark's eyes. Katie was perched over them.

"Daddy?!" She said.

Taker sat up quickly, perhaps too quickly, and he had to take a second to steady himself. He hadn't had complete control for a while now, and he had to get used to it. "Shh, easy Katie. It's okay. I got you." He said. He took her into his arms.

"Where's daddy?" She asked.

"He's in here, and he's safe. I got him to. As soon as he's able, I'll put him back in control." Taker whispered.

"Is everything okay?" Sara asked. She had come around the side of the house. Jack was with her, holding her hand.

"Yep" Taker replied, careful to match Mark's voice as best he could. He knew that Mark didn't want Sara to know about him, and he wasn't about to go against that. "It is now."

"You okay Katie honey?" Sara asked, kneeling down beside them, and kissing Katie's cheek.

"Yes mom. I fell." Katie said. Taker didn't know how to react to that. He knew he shouldn't encourage the girl to lie, but it was a needed one with the way Mark wanted his life to go at this time.

"Come on, kiddo. Let's get you a drink and dry those tears." Taker said. He stood up, giving Jack a pat on the head on the way and still holding Katie in his arms, and carried her towards the house. Taker gave Sara a wink and a smile, in the same assured manner Mark would have in this situation. She smiled sweetly back at him, as always, proud of what a good dad Mark turned out to be.

Taker sat Katie on the kitchen counter and retrieved a cup of grape juice, which he knew was her favourite, and a damp cloth. He gently wiped her cheeks and gave her the juice. She drank it and after a long hug, Taker set her back on her own two feet on the floor.

"And remember, Palomino pony" She said. All sense of security had been restored to her. Taker chuckled a bit while she headed back outdoors. He headed for the stairs.

He settled in the chair of the office. He took a slow breath and found Mark deep in the mind they shared. Mark was huddled in a mass of trembling fear and rage. Taker reached out and gently touched Mark, who jumped at the contact.

_"Relax, Mark. I've got you. They've gone. I got them out before any real damage could be done."_ Taker said.

_"How did you get in?"_ Mark asked.

_"The same way they did. I'm sorry Mark, but I had to. Whatever or whomever Paul sent your way was nasty and meant you permanent harm. I couldn't allow that to happen."_ Taker said. He continued the gentle touch on Mark, to reassure him. No matter how much his host denied it, Taker knew Mark would be comforted by it.

_"You invaded with them." _Mark accused.

_"Only to throw them out, I swear, Mark. What if I hadn't been there and that thing had moved on to Katie? Like you, she'll be prone to these attacks." _Taker kept his voice calm, not wanting to upset Mark, but as always present the facts he needed to make a decision.

_"Don't bring her into this." _ Mark said with a growl.

_"She IS this. Your paranoia over your family, while not unjustified, is making you take rash action. You need a cooler head to help you through this. It's what you created me for, to help you." _ Taker said. The tension started to ease in the body they shared. Taker knew he'd gotten through on some level to Mark. All that remained now was to see how far.

_"I just didn't expect that you would become your own independent entity. It's stressful on a human mind to know that there's another person in your head. Especially if that person has the power to level cities, and all he has to do is use your body as a conductor." _Mark finally said.

_"Are you intimidated by me?"_ Taker asked.

_"Yeah, maybe a little. Which I'm sure you have to know how hard that is for me to admit to you."_

_"But I can't do anything without you. Not a goddamned thing. I can even touch anything, feel anything-"_ Taker was surprised when Mark cut him off.

_"Yes you do."_ Mark's words were quiet, but said firmly.

_"I beg your pardon?"_ Taker said.

_"You look at Katie the exact same way I do. You love her like I do. I just found that alarming. You and I both know what we're capable of... And before, I could just pass off whatever terrible things I did in the past to you. You were my perfect scapegoat... But if you can come to care about that little girl the same way I have, then maybe I'm nowhere near as noble or in control as I seem... Look, I just need some time to think this over." _Mark said.

_"All right"_ Taker agreed. He handed control back over to Mark easily and then retreated back into the recesses of Mark's mind, where he usually resided.

The scene he emerged on was a cavernous library. This was Taker's favourite place to be in Mark's mind. Every bound volume was an old friend. He walked the stacks and settled on a book of psychology appropriately enough, and then went to a wing back chair that was by a hearth roaring with flames. This was a place that Taker wasn't sure if Mark even knew about. Perhaps he would show him when they were on good terms again.

He read comfortably until he felt it again. He was being pulled from his quiet home. He fought and strained against it. _"Mark!"_ He cried out. _"Mark! Don't do this! It's not going to work!"_ Taker tried to maintain his grip on Mark's mind, but soon nothingness was all he knew. He was in a great open, black void without a light source or stimuli of any kind. The Lord of Darkness realized the irony of just how much he'd appreciate a flashlight at the moment. He laughed despite himself. _"Shit"_ He said. _"Fucker did it to me again."_

Mark jolted awake in bed. He'd spent the day regrouping his thoughts and putting together just what his bizarre relationship with Taker meant to him. After so many years together, he knew in his very soul that he could trust Taker. He also knew that Taker was right about Paul, and most likely Kane as well, no matter how wrong Mark wanted him to be.

Now Mark was in a cold sweat. It was scant few hours since he'd gone to sleep, or so said the digital clock by the bed. Something was wrong. Really wrong. He searched his mind, and the gaping hole in him was obvious. Taker was gone. There wasn't a trace of him to be found. Mark had a moment of pure panic when he realized just how alone he felt. Normally he would have asked Taker for what the source of the problem was.

Mark called out with his own power slowly and tentatively. It had been fostered and kept strong by Taker's presence, not weakened by it. He receded into his own mind, and went to the spot where Taker usually was in his mindscape. Mark had never actually come here, seeing it as giving him some kind of privacy, despite them sharing most every thought.

Mark found the scene of the great library, with a tall wing back chair by a hearth. The fire in the hearth had recently been put out, and that was the only thing odd about the place, except for that half of it was missing of course. Broken, open space remained where a secure place had been until just a few moments ago. Mark dealt with the immediate damage, knowing he couldn't afford to neglect a weak spot like this. So he set his power about repairing the damage.

It seemed that the rows of books were endless to Mark. He looked around and up in wonder at the place that Taker had built within him. No wonder it was so hard to argue with the guy. Mark could feel the care that had gone into making it. Taker wouldn't attempt to destroy this or break away from him. Taker had been captured from his home, taken by force. Nigh impossible to do when they were together, unless the person who did it already knew precisely how. The method and lack of discretion reeked of Paul. The collateral mental damage was as good as leaving a business card or carving a large Z into the wing back chair.

Mark immediately worried for Taker, who had always had a suspicion of Paul from the very start. When it was revealed that Kane was still alive, that had only confirmed to Taker that Paul was never to be trusted. Mark had just wanted his little brother back.

At that point, Mark had been without any kind of family for so long, that it clouded what he should have known Kane would be capable of. Taker had tried to cushion Mark against Kane's physical onslaught, but Mark would have none of fighting Kane. He still wouldn't. Any battles they had in or out of the ring, Mark had told Taker to handle. He just didn't have the heart for it.

Taker had counseled and consoled Mark during that time, playing psychologist and confidant. Mark remembered this all, and it made the gaping hole in him without Taker there to fill it, all the worse. He came out of his mind, and got out of bed. "You okay, Mark?" Sara whispered.

"Yeah babe, just a bad dream. I'm okay. Go back to sleep." Mark said.

He padded barefoot up the stairs, knowing them well enough to avoid the spots that made the loudest creaks. He lit candles in the office as opposed to the above light. He set up what he needed, and started pouring over texts.

He cast several locator spells to find Paul. They were slow moving, but far reaching, and subtle. He let his work consume him until long after dawn. Sara walked into the room with breakfast on a tray for him. "What are you doing up here? The kids are asking where you got to. Is something wrong?" She asked.

Mark sighed deeply. He wanted to reassure her that that he had everything under control, but he didn't know if he did. That was far from the fact... And if a man couldn't trust the woman he loved, who could he trust?

"Okay, how much have I told you about my association with all this?" He asked. He made a half hearted gesture, encompassing the room.

"Well, you said that you knew a lot more then you ever tried." She said.

"Yeah, that was a lie, and I'm really sorry about that."

"I figured that much after I'd gotten you drunk a couple of times. Especially after our third 'official' date..." Sara smiled at the memory and then continued. "...And Katie talks about there being another person inside of you. I just ignored it at first. I thought it was her way of separating her daddy from the character he plays on TV. But when your child goes on and on about something, you have to take notice eventually. Katie's just helped confirm some of what I already suspected." Sara put a hand on his shoulder.

"And you still wanted to be with me?" Mark asked.

"It was gonna take a lot more then strangeness and a penchant for occult-like practices for me to keep my hands off of you." She said. She was so casual and matter of fact that Mark felt like kissing her.

"You truly are a remarkable woman, Sara."

"Oh I know it... Here eat something and tell me what's got you spooked." She said. Mark smirked and picked up the coffee, and then picked up a piece of toast.

"Okay, the beginning... I've always been this way, Sara. I've always walked on the shady side of the street, so to speak. From the time I was really young I had the sight, as my grandmother called it. She knew it right when she saw me for the first time. Everybody needs a crazy Irish grandmother I think... Anyways, I'm told I see a very different world then the one you do. There are ghosts and restless spirits, monsters and demons, and a lot of things I wish I didn't have to see." Mark said, and took a bit of the toast and chewed.

"So you see dead people?" Sara joked. "I thought you were the Dead Man."

"Oh sure. Go ahead and laugh." Mark said through his mouthful. He rolled his eyes, and swallowed and spoke again. "I'll just do this thing on my own then."

"No, no. I'm sorry... Please, I want to know about this thing that consumes you so often." She said. Mark gave his wife a long-suffering look. She returned with the most genuine smile, and Mark found himself smiling back, though his eyes remained sad.

"Look, I don't want to freak you out, but you deserve to know. Essentially, you've been married to two men all this time. Both of us just happen to live up here." Mark touched his temple, and then reached for his bottle of whiskey and poured a healthy measure into his coffee mug. He took a much longer drink from the mug. "You know when I talk about Taker, and you say I treat him like he's another person?"

"Yeah" She said. Her face was calm and relaxed as it always was. That gave Mark some courage to continue.

"Well, he...is." Mark took another long breath and a long drink from the coffee mug. "I made him... Paul helped, but Taker is another entity. He's comprised of power, magical, natural, elemental and... pieces of me... So that we, I, could better have dominion over him. He IS power, Sara. Power that was gathered from various places and embedded in my skull, in me... You've got to understand, I couldn't tell you. I wanted you so bad... You made me feel like a normal human being again. The excessive weirdness, the stuff that I can't handle, just goes away when I'm around you. When I met you, the good of this world outshone the bad so easily. I got to like that, and love you, so much." Mark said. He took the a few moments to finish the toast and the coffee.

"And Taker, for all his power, has become an exceptionally polite being. He took a step back when you came into my life. But by then, he'd started become his own entire being, with his own emotional life and a personality, that while close to my own, had it's own opinions on... Well everything... I was cohabitating my body with a dark spirit that was there only to cause pain and mayhem... But what I didn't expect was the most recent changes in him." Mark said.

"Changes? What changes?" Sara asked. She was riveted to the story, and showed no revulsion.

"He, well, he's been just as present for our marriage as I have, Sara. He may not be in control, but he's always aware. He, he loves you like I love you. He loves the kids like I love them. When I realized this the other day, I didn't know how to handle it at first. I was selfish. I couldn't share the gift of you with him, while he's shared everything I made him to be with me.

"I was unwilling to share because I know what he's capable of. I know what we're capable of together. I was scared he might try and vent some frustration on you or the kids because I haven't been as generous with him. I know that fear was completely unfounded. He can't do anything without my body to channel it through. What I should be wary of is my own power and what I am capable of." Mark said, and wanted more then anything to look into his wife's brown eyes. He hoped to see understanding and compassion when he did.

He slowly met her eye and was rewarded with the expression he'd been hoping for. She ran a hand over his red hair, which was still unkempt from his few hours of sleep before he came up here.

"So what is this all about? Why tell me now?" She asked.

"I did a stupid thing and tried to separate him from me, but he had to force himself back in to protect me from a mind bomb sent by Paul."

"What's a mind bomb?"

"Imagine reliving every trauma, injury and trip to the dentist you've ever had without Novocain, and with perfect clarity all at once. Now multiply that by your greatest fear, mix in all the depression and self-doubt you've ever had, and that's a mind bomb." Mark said.

"Oh my God, that sounds awful." Sara said.

"That's why Taker forced his way back in. To help fight it off. Yesterday when Katie was crying and you asked if we were okay, that was Taker talking to you. He had to hold me together until I could do it myself."

"Why was Katie so upset?"

"I imagine that seeing me collapse in a heap can't be too pleasant for her." Mark said. He wasn't ready to share Katie's second sight with her yet. That would be too much for Sara to handle right now.

"She's seen you wrestle, Mark."

"Yeah, but somebody actually hits me before I fall down... Anyways I was in a weakened state yesterday." Mark said.

"What happened when you got out of bed?" Sara asked.

"Taker's gone... Stolen... Abducted. He's been ripped from my mind. From the kind of damage that was done, I assume that it's Paul. He's really the only one that would be interested in Taker, let alone capable of pulling this off. I have to get Taker back. If I didn't know that you and the kids were downstairs, I think I might be going insane right now. I feel so... Utterly alone. I already miss the pretentious fuck talking to me in French and Latin at inappropriate moments. I fucked this up, and I've got to fix it. If only so I can apologize to him for being such an ass." Mark sighed and drank more coffee.

"So go get him." Sara said. Mark looked at his wife's eyes, and that urge to kiss her came roaring back. She was all concern and support and belief. It was a weight lifted from Mark's shoulders. But her voice was also very matter of fact. Mark had screwed up, but knew how to fix it, so he should be doing that. It was the logical solution.

"I've got to find Paul's bolt-hole first." He said, and indicated the objects, mixtures and marks on the pages of a spell book before him.

"If you can do all this on your own, why do you need Taker?" Sara asked.

"I never really needed him, babe. While he's been very helpful protecting my mind from those that would want to abuse it, the simple fact of the matter is that I wanted him, and the power he gave me... I want him back, because he is ultimately my creation and responsibility... And he's also become my friend." They remained in comfortable silence for a time. Mark's eyes intently watched the book and objects in front of him on the desk.

"So what happened on our third 'official' date, again?" Mark asked, out of pure curiousity.

"You remember we went to that bar, and were watching the football game that you lost a bunch of money on in a bet with the bartender?" Sara asked.

"Vaguely" Mark replied with a grin spreading across his face.

"Anyways, you were still so nervous around me that you drank yourself into a state of cautious optimism... And then you were gentlemanly enough to walk me home. As were walking, I noticed something. It was the scent of fresh flowers. I managed a glace behind us and there spring flowers blooming in our wake, Mark. I saw them erupting up from the ground in every available flowerbed and patch of lawn. People who were walking behind us were starring at us... It was mildly terrifying, so I didn't say anything because I didn't know you all that well yet. And I had a few on board myself at that point, and didn't know it I was really seeing what I was seeing. But mostly it was so incredibly beautiful... And I figured that someone capable of such a gesture was definitely worth a fourth date." Sara said. Mark kept his eyes on his work, but a slight blush rose up on his cheeks. He gave a small, boyish smile. The one he always gave when he got caught at something.

"I even tried to deny it for a little while after because the next day the streets we walked went back to normal... But that night is burned into my memory, Mark. I've always been pretty good at reading how people are feeling. And I know that before that night, you were intriguing to me because well, you're really good looking, and you showed so little emotion. I just couldn't for the life of me figure out what was going on in that head of yours... But that night, it was like something cracked and you opened right up. I could see it all in your face after you kissed me goodnight... And all I wanted was to know more of the vast depth of emotion in you." Sara gave him a sweet smile, and Mark looked away from the desk and into her eyes.

"I... I" It was rare that he stumbled over words, but now was one of those moments where he just had to stop thinking and speak from the heart. "That night was something of a milestone for me, Sara." He took a deep breath, he wasn't sure if he could admit to her the hold that Taker had had on him at the time, but he knew he had to.

"Taker was in pretty much complete control of my actions when I met you. It was... I don't know why I ever did it. It was such a stupid fucking thing to do. And when I met you, I was almost immediately sure that I wanted to be around you as much as you'd let me. You represented everything that I was not at that point, and everything that I could be. That night was the night that I 'talked' Taker into stepping back for awhile. He was like an addiction at the time. I gave him more control because I got off on the power we shared... But then you came along... And I found someone with a lot more substance then Taker had at the time." Mark said. His eyes were clear and showed his adoration for Sara, and it made her feel warm all over. She wasn't quite sure how he did it, but he got to her, every time, and all he had to do was look at her the right way.

"You chose me over him?" She asked.

"I, I guess I did... But he was different then. He was just as addicted to using that power as I was. I think I came off as so distracted and distant before that night because I was in the middle of fighting with him to have my body back as mine and mine alone. He wasn't happy with it for a long time, but eventually came around. I think you helped with that more then I can ever say. My love for you rubbed off on him, and I think he found out how good something like that could be. It changed him. It sure as hell changed me. With you, I found that real power had nothing to do with the spells I could work. You're so strong, so vibrant, and you do it all on your own. You don't need any outside power to make it through this life, and I am amazed by that." Mark said.

At that moment, hovering over the parchment on the desk, small balls of light formed and started whirling above it.

"You seem to have plenty of your own power." Sara said.

"Not the kind of power you've got. I can do this stuff, sure, and even that doesn't compare to when Taker and I are together. He IS power." Mark said. Sara made motion to put her hand around one of the points of light. Mark caught her wrist and guided it back down to her side. "Please don't" Mark said. "If you don't know what you're doing, this can be really dangerous... And interrupting at this point would mean that I have to start all over again."

"Oh, okay. Are you alright?" She asked.

"Not really" Mark said, his was voice tired and very glum. The lights started to move more quickly and collide with one another. "Might wanna step back a ways, darlin'."

Sara was far from stupid. She took herself back to the doorway. When the lights became one solid mass, Mark reached for it. She heard a sizzle and smelled burning flesh as her husband took the ball of light in his hand, then pressed it to his left eye. The sizzling sound got worse, and Mark made a pained groan. Sara knew this was the sound he made when he was in real pain, not the day to day he dealt with in his joints or regular wear and tear in the ring.

Mark's right eye rolled back into his head and he collapsed over the desk. Bright light and a trail of red blood streamed out of his left eye. Mark's shaky hand moved up to the top of the desk and took hold of a pen he had carefully placed there earlier. He seemed to be writing blindly on the pages of the spell book, judging from the angle he was using.

It took far too long in Sara's mind, but eventually the light faded, and the pool of blood stopped growing. Mark's eyes rolled back down and he was breathing heavily. He reached for the whiskey bottle in a haze. With his other arm, he propped his head up on his elbow. The burn on his hand caused by the ball of light faded before their eyes. He chuckled deeply. His grin, which Sara could see in profile, was conniving and sardonic. This was disturbing for Sara to see. She was used to the gentle side of Mark, and while she knew this existing in him, it was hard to watch.

"Ha ha, got ya Paul. Fucking got you." He said, and took a drink from the bottle. He pushed himself back wearily, and leaned back in the chair. "Fucking got you, you greasy bastard." A few more deep breaths and Mark's face calmed. He took another long drink from the bottle, and his hands steadied. There were more long deep breaths in and out, and Mark's eyes opened and rested on his wife's face. "I'll understand if you can't handle this."

Sara smiled wryly at him. "If I ever can't, I'll be sure to tell you." She said.

"Please come here, babe?" Mark asked softly. Sara walked over to him and Mark opened his arms wide. She bent at the waist, and let Mark wrap his arms around her. "I love you. I love you so much." He whispered.

"I know, Mark. I love you too." She replied, and kissed his forehead.

Taker, meanwhile, felt he was being pulled from the void he'd been stuck in. At least he hadn't been there long, he knew that. "You know, Mark, you've got a helluva lot of nerve to treat me like this. You better have come to your senses and... You're not Mark at all." Taker said as he took form and became aware of the world around him.

"Mark is the least of your worries." Paul said. He stood quite close to the only point of light in the room, a bare bulb that hung from the ceiling.

"Aww fuck" Taker said in a frustrated voice, and rolled his eyes, knowing that Paul could see him, and would be able to see the gesture. "Why me?" He asked and sighed loudly.

"Because you are a very useful being when placed in the proper context. I think I've found my own way to put you to work, seeing as Mark just leaves you to rot in his brain while he changes diapers." Paul said.

"Paul, I don't have any problem with you at the present moment, so just send me back to Mark, and we'll pretend this never happened." Taker said.

"And what will you do to me if I don't? What can you do? What if I just kill Mark? Where would you be then?" Paul asked, with a sick little sneer on his face.

"I'm an intelligent spirit with a lot of time on my hands. Don't you think I've considered this? One of two things will happen if you do something stupid like that. Either I will walk the Earth as a wayward spirit, or I will dissipate back to the sources I was drawn from."

"I don't think that will be a problem." Paul said, his expression didn't change. A slight movement caused Taker's gaze to focus just beyond Paul. Kane's huddled but still large figure was behind Paul, close to the concrete wall of the basement they were in. Kane cowered on a chair that impossibly held his weight. His hands were over his face. Taker's last encounter with Kane had involved Taker turning Kane's own pyrokinesis against him, so it was small wonder why Kane looked so much like he didn't want to be within a thousand miles of Taker. Taker quickly put together what Paul was planning to do.

"You know it's not like that, Paul. Bind me to him for as long as you like, it won't increase his power any. To cause change in this world, I need Mark's hands, Mark's heart. If you bind me to Kane, all I will be is another voice in his head." Taker said. His face contorted with his forming anger.

"I'm willing to experiment with it. There is very little for me to loose on this. Any result means I will still have Kane, and I will have you safely confined."

"Lucky you" Taker mocked. "Mark will find me, Paul. He will come after me. And where do you think is the first logical place for him to look?"

"He's only wanted rid of you since he started getting regular pussy from that bitch wife of his. You should be thankful. I've emancipated you."

"Oh fuck off" Taker said. "And don't talk about Sara that way. You'll regret it."

"No, I probably won't." Paul said, and immediately started the process of binding Taker to Kane. Taker tried to resist, but it was futile, and he knew it. It was like being pushed into an already over crowded phone booth. Kane had obviously been subject to Paul's binding experiments before and he and Taker were far from alone in Kane's body.

Taker heard over a dozen other voices around him when it was done. No wonder the guy was as fucking crazy as he was. So many opinions whirled around that Taker was almost made dizzy by the experience. Kane was so conflicted that he couldn't make much sense of the world around him because of this. Taker saw out through Kane's eyes. He was still on the chair and was seeing Paul's rotund legs and belly.

He took awareness of Kane's mind and focused on him. What was strange to him was it took effort to find Kane in Kane's own mind. That was not a good sign. Only after concerted effort to sort through the other presences, did he eventually stumbled upon the figure of a small boy in tattered clothes. He had his head in his hands, and fresh burn scars on his arm. He was in a corner of sorts, trying to hide away from all the others that lurked in the mindscape.

Taker knelt down in front of the boy, and started whispering to him. The boy curled up even more tightly into a ball. _"Kane, it's going to be okay. Trust me, okay?"_ The boy's hands went to his ears.

_"No! Stop talking to me! Leave me alone! Go away!"_ The boy shouted.

_"You heard him, leave him alone. It lets us have so much more fun."_ Said a voice off to Taker's right. Taker turned to face the voice's owner, but couldn't make out anything in the murk, other then a basic form, letting him know that there was indeed something waiting there in the dark for them. Taker stood up, taking a defensive position over Kane.

_"This isn't where you belong, and I think it's time for all of you to be moving along."_ Taker said, keeping his voice calm.

_"Why? Scared of us monsters that lurk here in the dark?"_ The voice asked. Taker made out the barest glint of teeth and red eyes. Taker's eyes narrowed and he smirked.

_"Motherfucker, I am the LORD of Darkness. You are nothing more then an irritation."_ Taker challenged.

Taker felt a sudden blow from behind. A malevolent presence was behind him, and it wanted to do Taker harm. Taker turned to face it. From the best Taker could decipher from the being's appearance, it was the remnants of a demon that Paul had bound to Kane, and hadn't been able to completely purge. Taker took a breath, and then leapt at the demon, throwing hard blows to its eyes and neck. The demon took the bait, and bit down on Taker's arm. Taker shook his arm violently. So violently that he snapped the neck of the beast.

Unable to keep its grip on Taker, it fell off to the side, and rolled around in agony. Taker forced the presence out of Kane's mind by again using his vast will. Through Kane's eyes, Taker saw the body they were inhabiting fall to the ground, and caught sight of the demon as it exited through Kane's mouth. Taker was more then mildly surprised that he'd been able to pull that off.

Taker looked around him to see all the other spirits that were taking up space in Kane's mind. _"Leave now by the exit I have made, or be forced out later. The process will be as painful for you as I can make it."_ He said. They lingered around him, moving shadows in the darkness that was Kane's mind.

_"You beat the biggest and meanest of us, sure... But can you beat ALL of us?"_ Said a raspy, disembodied voice.

_"I can sure as hell try... Come on, try me. I'll make you famous."_ A sick sneer spread across Taker's face. Had Mark been around, the big Texan probably would have laughed loudly at him putting the American Badass' tagline to good use.

Taker made the effort, hoping that since he'd been able to banish the demon, that he could do other things while in Kane's mind as well. He was perfectly pleased when he managed to conjure up a single dagger. It was merely something to aid him in hand to hand combat. He wasn't too fond of weapons of either the physical or magical sort. He much preferred to be close in for his fights. It was so much more satisfying.

A dull blow hit him from behind, between his neck and shoulder. Taker flipped the dagger in his hand, pointing the blade behind and thrusting it back. The sound and feel of steel cutting skin and plunging into flesh gave Taker a certain amount of nostalgic joy. This was part of what he had been made to do.

The accompanying howl of pain brought a healthy satisfaction. Taker didn't even see his opponent turned victim before he moved on to the next spirit that meant to do him harm. Taker wasn't sure if beating them down to a bloody pulp would be enough to convince them to leave, but he couldn't worry about that too much.

Something with claws latched on to his left side. What Taker assumed was the head of... whatever it was, was trying to bite down on his neck. It was impeded by the light body armor that Taker wore, which included a stiff collar set away from his neck to allow his head to move freely.

Taker managed to get the dagger between the monster and himself, and then sliced down across its flesh, cutting deep. He couldn't be positive what he'd cut, because it was so dark inside Kane's mind. The creature's body uttered a gurgling sound, and Taker was relieved when it fell away from him. Apparently, he'd caught the monster's throat.

Now there was more caution displayed by the others bound to Kane. They hung back in the murk, whispering to each other and trying to sort out what to do. Taker knew they were trying to organize, but none of them seemed to get along very well in the first place.

The flitted around him trying to find a way to force him out. Taker then chose his usual tactic, that being the best defense was a good offense. Knowing that they couldn't really do any more damaged to Kane, Taker launched himself into the darkness, and got lost in the carnage for awhile.

It felt good to vent any frustration he had this way. But as he plunged the dagger into the eye of the last remaining spirit, wrenched the weapon around and then dropped the body on the pile with the others, Taker was glad he knew how to do this, but came to the conclusion that this wasn't what he lived for anymore.

The remaining spirits groaned or cried out in their agony. Taker knew that to force them out of Kane now could well mean their demise... But the ruthless part of him Taker emerged. They had wronged Kane, and in so doing had wronged Mark... And they would have to be made an example of and sacrificed for their indiscretions.

Taker threw his willpower at them, and started to force them one by one out of Kane's mind the same way he'd tossed the first big, nasty thing that had tried to eat him. He kept watch out of Kane's eyes, and saw them be expelled via Kane's mouth. As soon as that was done, Taker reabsorbed the dagger into himself, as well as the gore from his battle. In so doing, he absorbed the ambient power left behind by Kane's tormentors.

Soon, all there was to be found in the blackness of Kane's mind was the Lord of Darkness and traumatized, badly scarred, and petrified little boy. Kane was crouched down, with his hands over his ears, and his eyes shut tight. He rocked slightly back and forth. The boy's small body trembled and he gasped in small, panicked breaths.

Taker gently reached out, and Kane started screaming wordlessly, and fighting him. In the mindscape, Taker had the size and strength advantage over the shape of the boy Kane had most likely been forced into by Paul. He wrestled Kane to a standstill and held him there. _"Kane, get a hold of yourself! Listen! They've gone now."_ Kane threw back a valiant effort to break free from Taker's hold, and fought fiercely. Taker felt his power welling up again. _"Sleep, Kane"_ He said calmly. By some miracle of shared genetics, Kane slept. However this had an unexpected result for Taker... It left him in control of Kane's body.

On reflex, Taker drew in a breath and blinked. He breathed out and blinked again. He breathed in once more, and found the pattern to it. This body was alien for him. It was strange compared to the comfortable home that was Mark's body. He felt slightly nauseous and too hot.

"Hello Undertaker." Paul said. "I knew you'd have to take control. I suggest you keep it so Kane's insanity doesn't corrupt your thought process. I know you must feel a little uncomfortable in there. Kane's temperature runs higher then other people's because of his pyrokinesis. You'll also find that because of other prior spells done to Kane's body, that you will be able to bring no physical harm to me." He explained. He still had that sneer on his face.

Taker ran the palm of the hand over the scarred face and through the long, wavy brown hair to get it out of his eyes. He tried to tell the body to get up and start kicking the shit out of Paul, but the man had been honest. He couldn't move with those thoughts in mind. He couldn't even get up to his feet at the moment. "Come along upstairs, I know that Kane hasn't eaten yet today, and you'll both be hungry after your little extra circular activity."

Taker almost said "Mark takes care of that" because Mark had. Even when Taker was at the pinnacle of his control over Mark's body, Mark always maintained it. He kept it fed, exercised, cleaned and groomed accordingly, in order to let Taker concentrate on more important matters of sorcery. Now all Taker could do was keep his mouth shut to avoid sounding like an idiot, and follow Paul out of the dimly lit basement, and up the stairs.

Only two days into his predicament and the formerly unflappable Taker was feeling edgy and annoyed. Sleep was a foreign concept to him, and didn't come easily. Whenever Taker retreated into Kane's mind to speak with his host, he was attacked and had to put Kane back into hibernation. Eating was okay. But shitting, grooming, and the occasional hard on he got after his scant sleep were mild forms of torture. The feeling of being too hot hadn't passed yet, and if anything, had gotten worse.

He took to lying on the cool basement floor and letting it absorb all his radiant body heat. It crossed his mind that perhaps Kane hadn't minded being locked in that basement as a child. He was weakening and getting weaker. Unlike with Mark, he couldn't use Kane's body to channel and gather energy for himself. It was taking a good deal of effort to keep Kane in check. He also spent his time on the concrete floor to seek out and rebuild the ravaged areas of Kane's mind. And that took considerable effort as well.

Taker had quickly come to the conclusion that the only way left for him to defy Paul in this state was to help Kane, work with him, and possibly break the ties between him and Paul. If he could get Kane to break away from Paul, Kane might be able to return him to Mark before he was completely useless. Since he couldn't draw strength through Kane, he couldn't expend any in the physical world, so he didn't have the vast powers to manipulate the universe they had either.

The most destroyed and malformed places Taker set about turning into places of calm and repose. He created a garden, much like the one at Mark's summer home. He created a library. Mostly though, he set about letting in light into Kane's dark interior. He opened certain receptors that Paul seemed to have cut him off from. Kane had been manipulated so that couldn't see any kind of beauty, or feel happiness, or recognize kindness. He couldn't even acknowledge the warmth of sunny day. Taker set about making Kane's mind a home for the long enslaved man.

On that basement floor, Taker also silently longed for Mark. He longed for Sara, and for Katie and Jack AKA: Ripper. He thought of that pastoral life that Mark had come to love, and now he loved it himself. He remembered family dinners, bedtime stories, and Mark's lazy afternoon siestas and long walks before dinner. He wanted to be back amongst this more then he wanted the ability to throw lightening bolts from Mark's fingers. Mostly though, he just longed for Mark. He missed his crude and sometimes juvenile sense of humour, and his foul tempers. He missed the companionship that his human counterpart offered. He'd never been alone like this and having to deal with the world.

It didn't take long for him to despise the stiffness of Kane's scarred skin. He hated the frustration that Kane caused him. Still, he had sympathy for the man. He'd been made a victim in more ways then Taker cared to know. Because of Mark, he also carried the sentimental hope that Kane would return to Mark, and that they could be a family again.

That was why he was concentrating on repairing Kane's broken mind. He was doing it for Mark. And if he never got him to Mark, this would stand as his final gesture to him before he faded off into nothingness. He cared about Mark enough to use himself up completely for the man's future happiness.

By the morning of the third day, Taker could sit in Kane's conscious presence and not be attacked outright. Outside of Kane's mind, Taker was still frightfully warm, and Paul seemed to enjoy his discomfort. After one snide remark too many, Taker spoke up.

"Let it be known, Paul that I hate you with everything that I am. When Mark comes, and he will come soon, you're a dead man."

"See, you share more in common with Kane every day. You both hate me, and you both have stupid, baseless hopes. Keep that up and I'll be able to put you to use yet." Paul's sneer only welled up more anger in Taker. Kane's body became so warm so quickly that Taker had to leave the room because something he couldn't control was about to happen. He went to the basement, laid down, and then went into Kane's mind again.

_"Kane"_ He called out calmly as he could. The huddled figure moved somewhat. Taker noticed that Kane's form here appeared to be aging. The scars were fading and the boy was clearly taller and broader then he used to be. _"Kane, I need to know what your body is going to do. What happens when you feel rage?"_ Taker asked. Kane started to shudder a bit, and then it turned into a low, sadistic chuckle. He lifted his head to look at Taker.

_"Real rage?"_ Kane asked. These were his first recognizable words to Taker. Taker nodded his response. _"That means we're fucked. Get ready for pain, because I'm not dealing with this one."_

_"Please, Kane, you've got to help me with this. I've been trying to help you in case you haven't noticed. Thoughts are coming a lot more clearly now aren't they?"_ Taker reasoned.

"_Why would you help me? So you and Mark can manipulate me instead of Paul?"_ Kane said. His gaze was hard and cold.

_"Yes, of course it is. But we want to manipulate you back into a functioning human being. For whatever fucked up reason, Mark still cares about you. Hell, he's made me come to care about you. Unlike Paul, we give a shit whether you live or die. I'm in here slowly killing myself in order to put you back together."_ Taker said. He was glaring Kane right back in the eye.

_"You're doing it for Mark, not me."_ Kane said.

_"No shit. I'm a being created to compliment Mark. But through my connection to him, and the fact that he's your brother, how could I respond any other way?"_ Taker said. That calmed Kane somewhat. He dropped his gaze away from Taker.

_"Fire"_ Kane whispered. _"We're fucked. But maybe we can at least take out Paul."_

Taker took awareness of Kane's body again and immediately wished he hadn't. All he could see, smell and feel was fire. He forced his natural panic response away when he realized that the flames were not burning Kane's flesh. In fact, he was the most comfortable he'd been since he'd been forced into Kane's mind. His natural reaction was to stay right where he was, but his better judgment told him not to. Kane's voice came to him then.

_"The flame that I create doesn't consume my body. But after other things are set alight, those flames will burn you."_ Taker thought of the scars on Kane's body and trusted him to know what he was talking about.

_"So, what do we do?"_ Taker asked.

_"Well, you need to stay calm and get us out of here before the oxygen is used up. I suggest breaking a window rather then the stairs, because you don't know where the blaze has spread."_ Kane said.

Taker walked under the ceiling of the main floor of the house, which was firmly engulfed, but the mostly bare concrete floor was safe to walk across. He picked up a piece of a stud from the floor above which had already fallen to the floor, and was only burning at one end. He launched it into the largest window, and then smashed out the remaining shards of glass. Kane's body was stiff from the three days of shellshock that Taker had put it through, but it was plenty strong enough to pull itself up and through the window. The action had cut up his hands and belly because of stray glass, and Taker knew enough to lie still when he'd crawled a safe distance from the house. He lay on the ground and looked at the earth beneath him. It was red and packed hard.

Taker heard sirens in the distance, and then he heard Paul scream from inside the house. "Kane! Kane get in here and move this fucking beam out of the way!" Taker felt Kane try to take control of his body on conditioned response to Paul's order. Since Kane had no real willpower behind it, Taker managed to hold them down with concentrated effort.

The sirens were getting closer, and the strength bled out of Taker as he fought to remain in control of Kane's body. The gashes on his belly opened further as the mental struggle made the body writhe on the ground. Paul was howling in pain by the time the fire trucks arrived. Since Kane's body was lying at the back of the house, they weren't immediately noticed by rescue workers. Taker was quickly loosing his ability to fight Paul's hold on Kane the more desperate the man trapped in the house became. Paul's desperation to live was winning over Taker's weakened willpower.

Then a cool presence washed over Taker. It was Mark, and he was close. He opened Kane's eyes and saw Mark's face above him. He registered that his big booming voice was shouting for help. It was Mark's proximity that allowed Taker to pull in some of the power he needed to keep Kane's body in one place until the ambulance workers arrived. "I'm so weak, Mark." He whispered.

"I know." Mark said. "I know, but you just gotta hang on a little longer. I'm sorry. I'll put things right. I swear." Taker then lost control of Kane's body and slipped into an unconscious state, knowing that Mark would handle it, like he usually did.

Mark held Kane down until the EMTs could strap him down. Kane was still trying to respond to Paul's cries of agony. A mild sedative was administered and they had a sleeping giant. "What is your relationship to him?" One of the paramedics asked Mark.

"He's my brother... Well, my half brother. Without DNA testing, the issue is up for debate." Mark said.

"He's lost quite a bit of blood. Do the two of you have the same blood type?"

"Yes" Mark mused that it was probably the business they worked in that would be the only reason for Mark to know if Kane had the same blood type.

"And would it be safe to take a transfusion from you?"

"I'm not sick. I may have tattoos, but they were all professionally done. I'm clean." Mark said.

"Okay, would you be willing?"

"Of course I would. He's my brother."

"Okay, you ride with us in the back of the bus."

Mark sat off to the side and tried to keep as much out of the way as possible during the ride to the hospital. He wringed his hands through that tense ride. There were two people in the body on the gurney that he could not afford to loose. Not yet anyways. He had the thoughts that everyone did during crisis situations, thinking of the worst that could happen, but he fought hard to suppress them.

He had just arrived in Atlanta where the locator spells had told him that Paul and Kane were stashed. He was walking through the airport when a wave of worry hit him so hard that he got a service to bring his luggage to the hotel, and then flagged down a taxi to take him to the address he'd scrawled into his spell book.

At the hospital, Mark was prepared for the transfusion while they got Kane's bleeding under control, and he did his best to stay calm. Sara would be wondering why he hadn't called the summer house yet to tell her he'd arrived safely.

But for now, his main priority was to lie down and bleed. He did, and was given food and juice to recover. It seemed a very easy thing to give Kane and Taker a bit of himself to help them out. They were family after all.

He stayed until the doctors told him to leave and get some rest. He let himself be sensible and left, grabbing another taxi back to his hotel. He claimed his baggage and checked in. Before passing out, he called Sara and gave her the basic run of the day's events. She listened quietly while he described Kane's injuries and the subsequent blood transfusion.

"How are you feeling?" She asked.

"Tired and jet lagged. Pretty normal all things considered... I love you, Sara." He said softly.

"I love you too Mark." He could hear the warmth in her voice and knew she was smiling. "Do you have Taker back with you yet?"

"Not yet. Soon. Maybe he and I can get Kane back on the side of the good guys as well."

"How's Paul?" Sara asked.

"You know, I haven't got a fucking clue, and I don't care." Mark said.

"Well, be careful until you do know. But get some sleep, Mark. Kane needs you... Taker needs you."

"Thank you, Sara."

"For what?" She asked.

"For believing me." He said.

"There are far stranger things on this planet then you I'm pretty sure." She said.

"Really now? I'll have to get you to show me sometime." Mark teased.

"You might be strange, Mark, but always remember that I chose to marry you. Maybe I'm not near as normal as you thought." She said, mock determination in her voice.

"This is true... Marrying someone like me has to be some kind of odd kink." Mark said, his tone meant that he was giving up. He was graced with Sara's light laugh over the phone line.

"Yeah, no shit. My mother still thinks I'm nuts... and I wouldn't have it any other way. Now get some sleep, Mark. Love you."

"Love you too." He said, and hung up the phone.

Mark woke with a purpose the next morning. He showered, shaved, clipped his nails and trimmed his goatee. He put on Taker's (and pleasantly enough Sara's) favourite cologne for him to wear. He dressed in a slate gray suit, with a shirt that matched his eyes (or so Sara told him), and a tie that matched the suit. He went to the hospital fully prepared to beg Taker's forgiveness and welcome him back if he'd come.

"Kill me Mark." Were the first words out of Kane's mouth, but spoken by Taker. Kane had been true to his word that he was 'not dealing with this'.

"What?" Mark asked. He had been expecting Taker to be all righteous indignation. This was not on his list of possible attitudes for Taker to have.

"Please, if you don't want me in your head anymore, just kill me. Destroy me. I can't handle this." He rose up Kane's bandaged hand as an example.

"Shit, Taker. No, it's not like that at all. I – I came to apologize. I want you back where you belong. I realize now how much I need you, and how much our family needs you." Mark said, taking a seat beside the bed.

"Our?" Taker asked.

"They're as much yours as they are mine. I know that now. I'll beg on my knees if you want me to." Mark said.

"I'm so weakened Mark. I'm not sure if I'll ever fully recover the power we once had. Somehow, my power works inside Kane's head and I've been trying to rebuild his mind, all while trying to keep him under control. It's been very taxing because I can't channel power through his body like I can yours... I'm just so tired." Taker said and sighed deeply.

"I don't care, Taker. I just want you back. It wasn't until this stupid situation that I recklessly put us into that I realized... Realized how much I relied on your presence. I've had two days to remember just how threatening this world can be to an unprotected mind like mine. Even out in the middle of nowhere at the house, I had wayward spirits trying to court my attention, thinking I could be a comfy home to try on. I need you Taker. I need you to help me keep them at bay. Mostly I need you to help me teach Katie about what she will become. I need you to help me protect her... And since you can inhabit Kane's mind, maybe she could even inherit you someday... To continue to help her when I can't anymore. Please Taker. Please come home." There was a long, but comfortable silence between them.

"For Katie" Taker finally agreed. Mark let out the breath he'd been holding.

"Thank you." Mark said. "How's Kane doing in there?"

"Resting comfortably, unlike me"

"I'm sorry." Mark said.

"I know." Taker replied.

They sat and had a long talk. Once again Taker filled his role as sensible counsel for Mark. They talked about Kane, and concluded that Taker should remain with Kane until they could have him in a secure place, where they had the time and resources to cut Kane's ties to Paul. Mark made sure to tell Taker how generous he was for offering to do that. They talked about Sara and the kids and the deep running emotions Taker had developed for them. Mark made sure to tell Taker that he'd come to accept this, and that he was willing to share that life with Taker from now on. He'd admitted that he'd been too paranoid to see the value in Taker's attachment to them.

They spoke specifically of Katie and the future that awaited her. They talked about what a smart girl she was. They spoke of the past, and how Taker had only become what Mark had wanted him to become. Then they talked about the extensive dark side in Mark's soul, and how it was that he feared, and not Taker. Taker also reassured him that it was something he could control.

By the time lunch arrived, Mark had his chin resting on his palm, and his elbow resting on the edge of the bed. Taker took a long, hard look at his sometimes impulsive creator. Mark was all care and concern for him. He could feel Mark's genuine sorrow for not trusting him. He could also feel Mark's deep affection for him. It was there, plain as day, on Mark's face.

A young woman in scrubs entered the room and set a tray of terrible smelling food down on the rolling table made to fit over the bed. Taker crinkled Kane's nose at the smell. "Not hungry?" She asked.

"Not hungry" Taker agreed flatly.

"Is there something else we can get you?" She asked with a sweet smile.

"No. Thank you." Taker said, and refused to make eye contact with her.

"How about I order a Chinese or something, Kane?" Mark offered. Taker eyed Mark, but kept up the charade of being Kane.

"Maybe I'll be hungry by the time it gets here." Taker said and then sighed.

"I'll see to it that he gets something to eat. Even if I have to force it into him." Mark said and gave the young woman a charming smile. She seemed content with this and left soon after convincing 'Kane' to at least keep the bread and juice from off of the lunch tray. Mark then picked up the receiver of the phone in the room.

"What are you doing?" Taker asked.

"Ordering you real food." Mark replied.

"I said I wasn't hungry."

"Please, Taker. It'll help Kane recover if he's got some fuel to do it with." Mark reasoned gently.

"Fine. I hate this." Taker resigned himself to the fate of having lunch.

"Hate what?" Mark asked as he punched in zero for the operator. "Having to take care of eating and shitting? I've spoiled you." Mark said with a smirk. Taker rolled his eyes. "But that's only because I value you so much." A lovely southern accent answered on the other end of the line. "Yes, hello. I need the number of a Chinese restaurant... One that doesn't use MSG."

A week later and Mark was driving himself and Kane to the fieldstone summer house. Solstice was coming and it was a cleansing time. Appropriate since it seemed that Taker and Mark had worked out most of their issues with one another.

Sara had been cautious about having Kane in the house, but Mark had assured her that it would all be under control. After a family dinner that Taker got to fully participate in, Sara seemed to come to a new level of understanding of the man, the men, she married. The appreciative looks that Taker gave her though Kane's eyes took a little getting use to at first though.

Katie knew full well who was in control of Kane's body and was delighted with his presence. Which also took some explaining to Sara, but once again she accepted and was satisfied that everything would be all right. By the end of dinner, Katie was perched on Kane's lap while Taker read a book to her. Both Sara and Mark noted how gentle he was of Katie. He hugged, tussled her hair, and went so far to give her a kiss when it was bath time. He watched wistfully as Sara marched the kids off to the bathroom.

Mark did the dishes and cleaned up the kitchen, while Taker sat in the dining room sipping at a glass of red wine. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you were having a great time reading 'Anatole' to Katie." Mark said.

"It's all the French names. It reads very nicely aloud." Taker said and smiled a bit while he ran his hand over the cover of the well loved children's book.

"Yeah, you'd think it was designed for kids or something." Mark teased and put the freshly washed and dried plates in the cupboard. Taker rolled his eyes and smirked in response. "You were having a good time, though." Mark said.

"I was." Taker agreed.

"If... If you wanted to stay, or be free, I'd try to understand." Mark offered.

"No Mark. This is Kane's body and my fortitude is waning fast."

"You just seem so content right now."

"Mostly it's because I know I'll be with you again soon. Need I remind you that every time you pick up you kids into your arms, then so am I?" Taker said, and took another sip of wine.

"No. I mean... I should know that. I guess I'm just afraid you'll get pissed off and reject this. I'm trying to harden myself up to that possibility."

"After the kids are in bed, we're doing this Mark." Taker said. Mark let out a sigh of relief.

"Okay" Mark said, and nodded.

Jack "the Ripper" spent half an hour running around naked before he could be corralled to even properly dry him off. He laughed and squawked and moved quickly on sure little legs. Mark eventually caught him from behind and soaked his shirt in the process because of Ripper's wet hair. He held the boy close until he calmed down and started gently pulling on his dad's hair for something to do between yawns.

Another half an hour and two more story books later and everyone was settling in for the night. The kids sleeping meant Mark and Taker were heading for the upstairs room where they could do the transfer in a safe environment. This could turn out to be a long night. Taker dawdled in the kitchen for a few moments with Sara.

"I want to thank you." Taker said.

"Me? What for?" Sara asked.

"Lots of things. Mountains of things. Mostly for accepting the weirdness that is Mark and I. I also want you to know how happy you make him. Trust me, I know." He reached out tenderly and took her hand. It was still warm and slightly damp from bath time. He raised it to his lips and kissed the back of it softly. He smiled and looked her in the eye when he was done. She was still in amazement.

"You, you love me, don't you?" She whispered.

"Yes Sara. Mark loves you, so I love you. I'd like to think though, that I'd love you with or without Mark's influence." He replied.

"Wow. Can you get Mark to talk like that more often?" She asked.

"I'll see what I can do. I also have marching orders from Katie for a palomino pony." Taker said. They both chuckled. Sara brought a hand up and touched the scarred side of Kane's face. Taker didn't balk at the touch like Kane would have.

"So what's to become of Kane?" Sara asked.

"I've managed to repair much of the damage to his mind while I've been in here. It's a surprise that I can even do that. I also had to chase out several other presences."

"I remember Mark saying he never knew just who he was going to get when talking to Kane." Sara said.

"I'm hoping Kane will be able to hold it together on his own this time. I certainly can't do it anymore for him. I'm pretty damn tired." Taker said.

"Well I'm sure Mark appreciates this. He's always been so conflicted about Kane... Well, I'm sure you know better then I do."

"I've had some experience of that, yes." Taker teased.

"Ah, still strong enough to be sarcastic. You're going to be fine, Mr. Taker." Sara said. Taker smiled, then bent at the waist and brushed Kane's lips over hers. She was surprised, but not offended.

"This is so strange." Sara murmured.

"It is. But in my experience I have learned that there is very little that a person cannot rise to the occasion to deal with." Taker replied.

"So I'm learning."

"I'll see you soon, Sara. Hopefully from a more comfortable perspective." Taker said.

"Okay" Sara said, and touched his cheek one more time before Taker moved away from her.

Taker walked Kane's sore body up the stairs, careful of the stitches and staples that were holding his stomach together for the time being. Mark was already in the 'office' and had things at the ready. Taker opened the door, and smelled the cologne that he preferred.

The space and the man on the other side of the door were immaculate. Mark had shed his wet shirt, and his exposed flesh gleamed with good health. They looked each other in the eye and Taker sighed. "Got to do this while I can." He muttered, and then wound up and threw a hard left hook to Mark's jaw and followed it by a right jab to Mark's stomach. Mark doubled over in pain, but made no motion to retaliate.

"Never use me like this again, Mark! I'm not a thing! I'm not your slave! I am your creation! I am you! Would you treat your family or yourself like this? Goddammit, Mark! I AM YOU!" Taker shouted, venting all his anger in those two punches and his exclamation.

"Taker" Mark stood up and carefully wiped his bleeding mouth with a cloth from a pile of them on a bookshelf, and then stepped forward towards Taker. "I vow never to do anything like that again. I promise. I'm sorry. Believe that. No one's ever been closer to me then you are. I know how much I need and want that. I trust you with everything that is precious to me. Please come back. I told you I'd beg. The offer still stands. Please. I..." Mark stopped short of saying he loved him. Taker already knew that on some level. It didn't need to be said. Taker brought a hand up to Mark's cheek like Sara had to him only moments before.

"Good." Taker murmured, satisfied with that response. "So don't be weirded out by this. Say the binding spell, Mark."

Mark did as he was asked, pronouncing each word carefully and reverently. When it was over, Taker moved Kane's body so close that they were nose to nose. Taker made the first motion, and Mark followed, knowing it would be a pleasant transfer if he went along with Taker's proposed method.

The kiss was soft and tentative at first. It was a nervous exploration. But soon it was like they were long time lovers, knowing precisely what the other wanted from the experience. Mark managed to ignore whose body it was and concentrated instead on reconnecting with Taker. Mark opened his mind up wide to give Taker all the room he needed to settle back in. Taker washed over his addled mind, and set him at ease, and cleansed him of any worry or doubt.

As the last of Taker left Kane, Mark had to continue the kiss and cradle Kane's body down to the floor. It wasn't the rush that Mark had felt when Taker was first created. With Taker weakened, it was the connection between them that took precedent. It felt like coming home.

Mark's mouth finally closed and he pulled away from Kane's mouth. Taker was back at home in his mind. He sat up on his knees and breathed deep a few times. While not feeling anymore powerful he certainly felt more resilient. The willpower that saw him through more then his strength ever could, was back.

Mark took a moment to savour the feeling with his eyes closed. The world made sense and he recessed into his mind. He appeared in the grand library beside Taker. A fire burned in the hearth, waiting for Taker to sit by it. _"I had to make a few executive decisions about how to rebuild it. I hope you don't mind."_ Mark said. Taker looked at the library and smiled. Clearly he was happy to be back. There were a few subtle changes. There was more light, provided by a huge south facing window, which had been created with multiple large panes of glass.

_"This is wonderful. Thank you."_ Taker said.

_"I'll leave you to get some rest. You, uh, you know where to find me if you need me."_ Mark said.

_"The same goes for you."_ Taker replied.

_"It's good to have you back. That was a scary couple of days."_ Mark admitted.

_"I know. It was for both of us, Mark. Now go on. See to Kane. He needs you, while I just need to relax for a bit."_ Taker said. Mark just looked him in the eye, smiled, and then came out of his mind and back into his body.

Kane was still lying on the floor, but his eyes were open and lucid. He was also very unsure of what to do at that moment. "It's so quiet." Kane observed.

"More then a dozen other folks in your noggin gone, I would imagine so." Mark said. "Come on let's get a bed ready for you." Mark helped Kane to unsteady feet, and was glad to see Sara on the other side of the doorway. The door had been ajar, so she'd been watching quietly. Husband and wife shared a tender smile, and she helped him get Kane to the largest guest room on the second floor. She turned the covers of the bed down, and helped Kane out of his shoes. He watched her with slightly confused eyes. Mark's sensitive mind told him that Kane was wondering why she would be so kind to him. Still, he was exhausted and remained silent on the issue.

Kane lay down, and Mark and Sara stayed with him in the semi dark of the room until he snored softly into the pillow. Sara's hand lingered on the bandage that was still around Kane's hand from the cuts he'd suffered on his and Taker's escape from the burning house. It was only a moment, and then Sara returned to Mark's arms and they left the room and treaded quietly down the stairs.

Sara brought out the bottle of Jack Daniels in the kitchen and poured them both healthy measures. "So how much of that did you see?" Mark whispered.

"Most of it... That Taker is a charmer... Even when he's knocking your teeth out." Sara said. Mark smirked.

"Well, he did learn from the best." He said.

"Ha. How are you feeling?" She asked.

"So much better. This is how it should be."

"You know Mark, maybe this was all meant to happen."

"What? Me loosing Taker like an idiot?" Mark asked.

"And then gaining him back with a level of trust you haven't known before. Also, your previously unstable at best brother is sleeping as peacefully as your children in the same house. I never would have thought it was possible. I'm impressed with you both."

"Heh, if the idea doesn't freak you out, I should let him take over for sex sometime. You'd enjoy it, I think." Mark said.

"You mean you haven't yet?" Sara asked.

"No, but he is a good source of ideas. He's very creative."

"So how do I get my own high powered sex muse?" Sara teased.

"You've already got one, babe. All you gotta do is ask." Mark grinned and Sara laughed quietly.

They finished their drinks and retired to bed, leaving the glasses on the counter to be washed in the morning. Mark settled in, with an arm around Sara's middle. He felt Taker's presence at rest and quiet inside of him. They would deal with completely breaking Kane's connection to Paul in the morning. For now, he closed his eyes and moved closer to Sara. The breeze wafted in through the open window, bringing a comforting fresh scent with it.

Sara rubbed her feet together and sighed. She was just on the verge of sleep, knowing Mark was as well when she heard him snort and mutter the words "Palomino pony?" She covered her mouth and suppressed her giggles until the morning.

Fin


End file.
